In 2017, Pakistani Film Industry has seen no success so far, with none of the films working at the box office including the likes of ‘Balu Mahi’ and ‘Chalay Thay Saath’. While we may blame the failure solely on content, we need to consider the other factors behind the poor performances of our films. In addition to the star cast, trailer, songs there is another huge factor that determines a film’s success and that is its release date. The case in point is the release date of Pakistan’s first live-action superhero film ‘Project Ghazi’. Is it another release date blunder in the making? Let’s find out.
The upcoming movie ‘Project Ghazi’, starring Humayun Saeed, Shehryar Munawar, and Syra Sheroz, is coming out next month. Teaser of the movie has set the right mood for the film in audience’s mind and now people are waiting for its trailer to come out on Eid. A few days ago the movie’s release date was announced which is 14th July; the question here is that was enough thought given when deciding upon this date, because looking at the schedule of films releasing in July it does not seem so?
It is to be noted that 2 major Bollywood movies, including Sri Devi, Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui starer ‘Mom’ (7 July) and Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starer ‘Jagga Jasoos’ (14 July), are lined up for July, while two Hollywood biggies, ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’ (7 July) and ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ (14 July), are also coming in the same timeframe.
Thus, our very own ‘Project Ghazi’ will be released along with two big movies ‘Jagga Jasoos’ and ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ on 14th July. Salman Khan’s ‘Tubelight’, the big Eid release, is also speculated to be a late release, i.e on 30th June, in Pakistan due to pressure from the local producers to delay its release. With a lot of films already running in theaters and so many others coming in the month of July, the decision of releasing ‘Project Ghazi’ on 14th July seems to be pretty ill-conceived.
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Pakistan Cinema Industry right now has a limited number of screens and it will be difficult to cater so many movies at the same time, along with that running for a longer period of time will also be tough amidst such an intense competition. Moreover, the film has exactly 30 days left for the promotion and creating some buzz for the film, and we think that is not enough time for a film so big.
The problem with our makers is that they are not ready to compete with an Indian movie on Eid, which is actually 3 holidays, where different movies can easily sustain with equal shows given to all. Ironically, when there is no holiday whatsoever they are ready to release their film on the same day with other biggies like what the makers of ‘Project Ghazi’ are doing because the movie has no holiday around it and so many films coming at the same time.
‘Project Ghazi’ we suggest can take up the date of 11th August! Yes, the film will face competition from the Akshay Kumar starer ‘Toliet’ releasing on the same day but let’s be honest, given the genre of the film and Akshay’s strength at the Pakistani Box office, the film won’t be tough competition. Moreover, even if it’s facing competition, it will also have the 14th August holiday to its advantage and given the patriotic touch of the film, it will be a win-win!
Facing competition should be done on Eid as it is holiday period, and most films can survive (case in point being 2015 where ‘Wrong Number’ ‘Bin Roye’ and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’ all did well) but competition on a normal Friday doesn’t make much sense. The team of ‘Project Ghazi’ should consider its options before taking a final call, otherwise, we doubt ‘Project Ghazi’ will be able to create the impact at the box office which it deserves.
Let us know what you think?
Additional input by Momin Ali Munshi.
